Bloom Nutrition has rapidly gained popularity in the supplement industry since its emergence in 2019, captivating consumers with its modern and attractive branding. With a focus on wellness supplements, particularly targeting women, Bloom has positioned itself as a go-to option for those seeking to enhance their overall health. However, it's crucial to delve deeper into the efficacy and safety of Bloom Greens & Superfoods, the brand's flagship product, before determining if it lives up to the hype and whether it can contribute to weight loss.
What is Bloom Greens?
Bloom Greens is a powdered superfood supplement comprising over 30 ingredients, including fruits, vegetables, fiber, digestive enzymes, and probiotics. It is marketed as a convenient way to support overall health, promote gut health, relieve bloating, support digestion, and boost energy.
How to Use Bloom Greens
Bloom Nutrition suggests mixing one scoop of the superfoods powder with your preferred beverage daily. Many people prefer to take it in the morning, although there are no specific timing recommendations.
Bloom Greens: Positives and Drawbacks
Bloom Positives:
- Ten diverse and appealing flavors
- Includes a fiber blend, adaptogens, prebiotics, berries, grasses, and vegetables
- Third-party tested and certified Good Manufacturing Practices
- Soy-free, gluten-free, and dairy-free
- No artificial sweeteners or added sugar
Bloom Drawbacks:
- Unknown number of probiotics
- Iron and sodium are the only listed vitamins or minerals
- Includes maltodextrin and stevia
- Limited diversity of green superfoods
- Claims of "supports gut health, relieves bloat, promotes energy" are not always true.
- Some users have reported worsening bloating, and the amount of pre- and probiotics doesn’t show significant value because it’s measured in milligrams rather than billions.
- Bloom is not third-party tested or screened for toxins such as cadmium or lead, which negatively impact the gut, brain and immune system.
Bloom Ingredients Analysis
Bloom divides its ingredients into specific blends, each targeting different aspects of health.
Fiber Blend
The fiber blend contains chicory root fructo-oligosaccharides, flaxseed, and apple fruit powder, offering both soluble and insoluble fiber. This blend contributes 1.6 grams of fiber per scoop. While fiber is beneficial, chicory root and apple may cause digestive issues for some individuals.
Read also: Detailed Comparison: Kiala and Bloom Greens Powders
Green Superfood Blend
This blend features nutritional grasses (organic barley grass, organic wheatgrass, and organic alfalfa leaf powder) and blue-green algae (organic spirulina and organic chlorella powder). Spirulina and chlorella are antioxidant-rich and contain essential micronutrients. However, Bloom Nutrition does not specify whether their chlorella has cracked or broken cell walls, which are needed for optimal absorption.
Pre- and Probiotic Blend
Bloom Greens contains blue agave Inulin as a prebiotic, along with three probiotic strains. While these probiotics may benefit gut and immune health, the lack of information on the number of CFUs (colony-forming units) raises concerns about their effectiveness.
Fruit and Vegetable Blend
The fruit and vegetable blend includes carrots, beetroot, blueberries, kale leaf powder, and broccoli. These provide a variety of produce and antioxidants important for health. The inclusion of ginger root extract may also aid digestive health.
Antioxidant Beauty Blend
This blend is rich in phytonutrients from berries like cranberry, strawberry, tart cherry, elderberry, goji berry, grape seed extract, and acai. It also contains matcha green tea leaf, which may provide some caffeine.
Digestive Enzyme Blend
Bloom Greens & Superfoods' digestive enzyme blend comprises six compounds, including amylase, cellulase, and lipase, to help break down foods. However, it also includes maltodextrin, which may cause inflammation and stress within the gut.
Read also: Bloom Greens: Weight Loss and Health
Adaptogenic Blend
Bloom's adaptogenic blend contains ashwagandha root powder, rhodiola root powder, American ginseng, astragalus root powder, licorice root extract, and eleuthero. While adaptogens may help the body manage stress, the 100mg dose for the entire blend may not be effective.
Bloom's Health Claims
Bloom claims that its greens powder helps with digestion and gut health, bloating, immunity, and energy. While research supports the positive impacts of vegetables, studies specifically on greens powders are limited.
Digestion and Gut Health
The combination of fiber, probiotics, prebiotics, and digestive enzymes may aid digestion and gut health by promoting a balanced gut microbiome.
Bloating
Digestive enzymes help break down and absorb foods, while adaptogens and ginger root may ease bloating by regulating stress. However, certain fibers like apple fruit powder and chicory root may cause bloating for some.
Immunity
Although the powder contains fruits and vegetables that increase micronutrient content, the supplement facts panel only lists iron and sodium, lacking essential nutrients like vitamin C. The effectiveness of probiotics for immunity is also uncertain due to the unknown CFU count.
Read also: Bloom Greens for Weight Loss?
Energy
The powder contains goji berry, astragalus, and rhodiola, which may help stave off fatigue. However, without a comprehensive supplement facts panel, the impact on energy levels is unclear.
Bloom Price and Discounts
Bloom Greens & Superfoods is relatively affordable compared to other greens supplements, costing $34.99 for a 30-day supply or $31.49 per month with a subscription. Unlike some competitors, Bloom Nutrition does not offer a money-back guarantee but allows returns of unopened products within 15 days.
What are Powdered Greens?
Powdered greens are a dietary supplement that helps you get your recommended daily intake of vitamins and minerals found in vegetables and superfoods. People often turn to powdered greens as an easier way to obtain fruits, leafy greens and other vegetables. In addition, powdered greens often include probiotics, nutritional extracts and herbs.
Customer Testimonials
Customer reviews offer mixed opinions on Bloom Greens & Superfoods.
Taste and Texture
Most customers find Bloom Greens delicious, with many flavor options available. The texture is generally smooth, with the powder mixing well with beverages. However, some customers find the taste too sweet due to the use of stevia leaf extract.
Reported Results
Many users report that Bloom Greens & Superfoods helps with bloating discomfort. However, some individuals experience bloating when taking the supplement, particularly those with added fiber and probiotics.
Weighing In: Is Bloom Greens and Superfoods Worth It?
Bloom Greens & Superfoods is a popular greens powder with a significant social media presence. It aims to provide a variety of superfoods that promise to help promote energy, reduce bloat, and aid in digestion.
This plant-based greens powder is relatively clean, with no additives, artificial colors or sweeteners, and no added sugar. It is also gluten-free, dairy-free, third-party tested, and manufactured in a GMP-certified facility.
While Bloom Greens offers a variety of flavors, there are other greens powders with a better diversity of superfoods and high-quality ingredients packed with verified vitamins, minerals, and essential nutrients for a similar price. It's important to remember that every person has differing health concerns and goals, and the dietary supplements they take should represent their individual needs. Always check with a nutritionist or your healthcare provider before adding new health supplements into your daily routine.
The Role of Complementary and Alternative Therapies (CATs) in Weight Loss
Overweight and obesity are chronic diseases that have become global epidemics. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the occurrence of overweight and obesity is increasing at an alarming rate. Conventional approaches to obesity treatment, such as calorie-restricted diets and increased physical activity, are not always effective.
Complementary and alternative therapies (CATs) refer to a group of varied medical and healthcare systems, practices, and products that are not considered part of conventional medicine. CATs commonly used for reducing weight include biologically based therapies such as dietary supplements, manipulative and body-based therapies (acupuncture, acupressure, etc.), and mind-body therapies (hypnotherapy).
A review of studies on CATs for overweight and obesity treatment found that spirulina, chitosan, probiotic, EPA + DHA, vitamin D, fiber, and herbal extract supplementation may all provide small reductions in body weight (ranging from 1-10 kg). Hypnotherapy and acupuncture reported significantly greater reduction in body weight compared with placebo. However, the evidence is still relatively limited and not encouraging to provide a definitive conclusion due to the methodological shortcomings and the presence of adverse events in chitosan and fiber supplementation.
Addressing Misconceptions and Clichés
It's important to avoid relying on packaged powders to provide everything needed for a healthy gut, mind, or immune system. Antioxidant-rich foods come in the form of whole vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts, and seeds.
Digestive enzymes have been shown to increase gastric digestion and help break down powder. However, because humans make digestive enzymes, like amylase, naturally, the average person does not require supplementation. The simplest way to increase digestive enzymes is to eat slower and reduce talking or thinking about stressful topics during meals.
Bloom Greens and Weight Loss: The Verdict
Bloom greens powders aren't a weight loss product or designed as a meal replacement. The company says that the powders can help relieve bloating, but doesn't market the product specifically for weight reduction.
While Bloom Greens may offer some benefits, particularly for those seeking a convenient way to increase their intake of fruits, vegetables, and superfoods, it should not be considered a primary weight loss solution. A holistic approach that includes a balanced diet, regular exercise, and healthy lifestyle habits is essential for achieving and maintaining a healthy weight.